The Benign Doppelganger
by lazily-here
Summary: (noun) - a ghostly double of a living person that haunts its living counterpart. Hitachiin Hikaru was an only child. Drowning himself in selfishness and treating everyone like a toy, with a lack of a brotherly companion to keep him in line, he meets his "kind" doppelganger, Kaoru, hell-bent on giving him back his conscience. No twincest. AU. One-sided HikaHaru, slight HikaruxOC.


**A/N: Hello! I just wanted to say that I've had this idea for a while now and I really wanted to get it upon FFnet. I really hope you like it, or at least are a little intrigued by it. I want to make this short, so, yes, there will be an OC, but she will only be there to help the story along. This will revolve mostly around Hikaru and how _Kaoru_helps him along with life. And I will try my best to make the OC likable and realistic, but, if you really are against the idea and against her, then I apologize. :s Overall, though, I hope you enjoy! :3 I'm probably just going to make this a three-shot or a four-shot, just to ensure that this gets finished, and this chapter serves as a sort of prologue.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran Highschool Host Club. It and all of its characters belong to Bisco Hatori. I do, however, own the OC, but she will not be appearing until probably the next chapter.**

Hitachiin Hikaru had always been an only child.

Always had been, always would be.

For the longest time, as his mother flew off to fashion shows and photo shoots around the globe, his father following silently behind, the single lonely heir to the Hitachiin name had raised himself. He had shaped his sullen personality by himself, nurtured his selfishness by himself, and created his own vision of the people around him to solely exist as his toys. They were all toys that he could easily discard of, damage, wreck, and replace, all for his own amusement. All by himself.

It is no exaggeration to say that he taught himself all of this on his own. In the duration of his entire childhood, he had gone through hundreds of nannies, dozens of maids, and a handful of back-breakingly loyal butlers. He followed nobody's rules but his own. He taught himself right from wrong, although mostly wrong. The boy had no limits; no boundaries. He could and he would step as far as he'd please into another person's comfort zone. And, as long as his parents kept spoiling him excessively - a meager apology for their constant absence - his warped ideas could thrive and expand to different heights.

Hitachiin Hikaru didn't need anyone. Everyone needed Hitachiin Hikaru.

There was never anyone willing enough to chide him for being so decidedly cruel, either. It was far too much effort to pierce through Hikaru's thick bubble of egotism. One could not urge him to even comprehend the error of his ways. This only served as encouragement for Hikaru's self-centered behaviour. He was a monster of a child. And monstrous children became alienated adults.

Due to his independence, none of the other children dared to play with him. They'd decided as soon as they offered him to join in their fun, there was indeed something disturbing about the boy. With that malicious glint in those amber eyes of the devil, and his taunting words - always seeming to bear a thinly-veiled threat - no child in their right of mind wished to be his friend. No child next to himself.

But on a strange cloudy Saturday in the middle of summer, an ten-year-old Hitachiin Hikaru found himself met with the strangest sight.

Heading out into the gloom of the day, Hikaru sauntered into the spacious backyard of his family's mansion. He'd decided that today he would see just how "amazing" the new jungle gym his parents had recently bought for him was. However, when he gazed up at the gigantic playground, he would discover its slight lack of vacancy.

The figure of another boy, of the same exact height and stature as the dumbfounded one on the ground hung precariously by his feet from the monkey bars. His back was facing Hikaru, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Hey!" Hikaru spat vehemently. "What do you think you're doing up there on _my_ playground?"

The other boy remained perfectly still.

"Are you deaf? Get! Off!"

A small gust of wind ruffled the auburn hair on the other boy's head. Hold on a minute. Auburn hair?

"You must think you're _soo_ smart," Hikaru huffed. "Do you even realize who you're defying? Hitachiin Hikaru, that's who!"

At this, the quietly defiant boy turned his head. And Hikaru's gaze met with a pair of eyes identical to his own.

The young Hitachiin heir stumbled backwards. "Wh-who are you?"

His mirror said nothing. Instead, a small smirk played on his young facial features. Facial features identical to Hikaru's own.

This strange look-alike leaped down from the bar on which he hung, landing perfectly on his feet like a cat. He took a few measured steps towards the petrified boy on the ground before he stopped.

"I-I'll call security! They'll have you arrested for stealing my identity! They will!"

'Mirror Hikaru' rolled his eyes, letting out a muted puff of a breath. Hikaru knew that look. It was his most infamous 'are you for real?' look. It felt rather irritating being on the receiving end of that kind of attitude.

Hikaru set his lips in a firm line, refusing to flinch as his mirror took another step forward. But the strange boy's next action surprised him. 'Mirror Hikaru' held out one small hand to Real Hikaru's clenched one. He was offering him assistance?

"I don't need help from some freak," Hikaru hissed. "I don't need help from anybody. Never have, never will."

The mirror image frowned, furrowing his eyebrows together in disappointment. His expression was almost sad, but it was mostly the look of...pity? Hikaru felt deeply offended.

"Don't look at me all sorry-like! I told you that I don't need help from anybody! That's a good thing, you know." 'Mirror Hikaru' looked doubtful. This triggered another huff from Hikaru. So the Hitachiin helped himself to his feet, pushing off from the ground with his hands. He brushed the dust off of his jeans and smirked at his 'reflection'. "I told you I could do it by myself."

'Mirror Hikaru' shrugged as if to say "whatever." Real Hikaru scowled.

"You didn't answer my question, you know." His reflection shook his head in nonchalance. This guy was really starting to piss him off.

"Who are you?" Hikaru repeated, now more demanding after his initial shock. 'Mirror Hikaru' beamed at him innocently.

'_I am Kaoru.'_

Hikaru started. When the boy opposite of him finally spoke, his mouth did not move. Instead, his words seemed to echo in his head.

"What..._what_ the hell are you?" the real Hikaru asked now, bewildered.

_'Your conscience,'_ this "Kaoru" replied simply, turning away from him. Hikaru snorted.

"Isn't that supposed to be up here?" He tapped an index finger on his forehead. It was 'Kaoru's' turn to snort.

_'Normally, yes. But you do not _have_ anything "up here,"'_ his voice replied in Hikaru's head mockingly, tapping his own forehead. Hikaru felt miffed.

"You don't have the right to treat me like that," he stated with defiance, for lack of a better retort.

'Kaoru' laughed airily. _'Actually, I believe I do, Hikaru, because, for one thing, I _am _you.'_ Hikaru's mouth gaped._ 'That is...before you kicked me out.' _His last words trailed off bitterly.

"What do you mean? I've never seen you before in my life!" Hikaru yelled. "And you may look like me, buddy, but you will _never be me_!" 'Kaoru' scoffed.

_'I told you. I am your conscience. I am you, without all of the troublesome characteristics. When you decided to abandon your morals in favor of a more "fun, limitless lifestyle", the conscience that once existed inside the back of your head now subsists as a ghost on the outside. And so, here I am.'_

Hikaru stared at his mirror image, utterly dumbfounded. _How is this even possible? _he wondered.

'Kaoru' casually made his way back towards the monkey bars, leaping up to hang from them once more. Kicking his feet up in between the rungs to catch them with his ankles again he remarked, _'I can also hear your thoughts.'_ Hikaru raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"You can?" he asked, with a bit of hesitance. He felt a little mentally intruded.

_'Yes, you're a very evil kid.' _"Kaoru" sounded dull. Hikaru smirked, puffing out his chest in self-satisfaction, and "Kaoru" narrowed his eyes at this. _'It's a little disturbing how content you are to hear that.'_

"Why wouldn't I be?" Hikaru replied; sincerely confused. "It is who I am, after all."

_'People aren't always proud of everything that they are,' _"Kaoru" said pointedly. Hikaru glared at him, his topaz eyes fierce; his stance on the defensive.

"Well, I'm not one of those people! I love the way I am! I have more fun than anybody! And who's to say that the way I am is wrong? I don't have to rely on anybody. Not Mom or Dad, and certainly not any friends. I need nobody! NOBODY!" Hikaru whirled around now, crying out to the plains of his backyard - of his domain.

'Kaoru' sighed. _'It's truly amazing how much selfishness you have bottled up enough to drive out your own conscience.'_

Hikaru spun back around on his heel to face his replica, jerking a finger at him. "And I don't need _you _either!"

_'Did you even listen to me?' _his double asked. A tired expression crumpled his translucent face.

"Yes, but I didn't need to," Hikaru answered smugly.

_'I suppose.'_ "Kaoru" hopped back off the bars onto the artificial sand, walking away. Hikaru looked disconcerted.

"H-hey! Where are you going?" he exclaimed.

_'Don't feel upset; I'll be back.'_ "Kaoru" waved him off without glancing back. Hikaru froze, fury welling up in his throat. After inhaling deeply, he let the volcano erupt.

"Don't get cocky yourself!" the boy shouted. "I don't want you back! But why are you leaving?" 'Kaoru' paused in his tracks, a smirk curling his lips that Hikaru could not see.

_'I came for you to have a mild awakening, now. I won't completely disappear until you learn to develop your own conscience again. I shall return whenever you are in doubt.'_

"I never doubt myself!" Hikaru insisted with a snort. His lookalike laughed heartily, as if he had hit some great punchline.

_'You will, Hikaru. You are not God. Now farewell.'_ The strange boy turned back on his path, continuing to make distance with himself and Hikaru, who watched as his figure began to fade.

"Did I say you could leave, bastard?!" the real boy protested, chasing after the departing apparition. "No one turns their back on Hitachiin Hikaru!"

_'Ta-ta.'_ The salutation quietly resonated in his brain, and he noticed the last sliver of the ghostly "Kaoru" flash him the peace sign before fully dissipating. His feet caught by a stone, the still-dashing Hikaru slipped and face-planted onto the ground.

The ten-year-old sniffed, lifting his head from the grass. Hikaru's expression soured, for the first time having experienced a thorough beating to his ego. He decided that he was not particularly fond of this "mild awakening," as his poser had put it. In fact, he sincerely hoped that "Kaoru" had been bluffing, and would not actually be returning in the near future - or preferably, ever.

So, when he went back to the mansion and had a butler tuck him into bed that evening (his fifth butler, to be exact) he contented himself with the ignorantly blissful knowledge that his day had been built on an illusion, and nothing more.

**A/N: Please remember to review, and give me some feedback/constructive criticism. (:**


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